


A Million Miles Away

by narusasunaruheadcanons



Category: Naruto
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Romantic Friendship, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-15 15:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5791279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narusasunaruheadcanons/pseuds/narusasunaruheadcanons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“My parents moved me halfway across the world when we were twelve and before that we were best friends but now I’m back and moving in across the hall from you so hi?” </p><p>Sasuke had thought he'd never see his annoying, loud best friend again...until he moves in next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What A Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fic request on my tumblr account from a lovely anon ^w^ 
> 
> Anon: “My parents moved me halfway across the world when we were twelve and before that we were best friends but now I’m back and moving in across the hall from you so hi?” au (cant remember where i found this its not mine)

_I hate new neighbours_ , Sasuke thought sullenly, sipping at his cup of tea calmly whilst the bang and clatter of voices, furniture and doors opening and closing all mingled together in a cacophony of noise.

The apartment directly opposite Sasuke’s had been available for purchase for about a month, the previous tenant moving into a newer, bigger home with his fiancé. Sasuke had never known the man well, but they had a friendly and manageable relationship as neighbours. Sasuke wasn’t the most sociable type, and the other guy had gotten that.

But now Sasuke didn’t know who he’d end up with as a neighbour, and he only hoped that if it was a female that she _wouldn’t_ be all over him, hopefully have a partner as well. For a reason he had never been able to explain, the female gender gravitated towards him, something that would be any guy’s dream - unless of course, that guy was gay, such as Sasuke was. Which meant he had to deal with advances from men and women alike, it was so annoying.

“Ah! Oh shit, fuck that hurt!”

Sasuke jumped a little at the sudden outburst of profanities, and turned his attention towards his front door. His eyes narrowed. _What’s going on out there?_

Deciding he didn’t want to have to file a missing person’s report (it could be _anything_ after all), Sasuke placed his tea on the table and waltzed over to the front door, peering in through the eye hole at all the commotion from outside.

Sasuke paled at what he saw, a trembling suddenly taking over his hands as he clutched at the door for support.

_There’s no way, absolutely no way_ , Sasuke kept repeating over and over in his mind, like a mantra.

Because it certainly wasn’t _Naruto Uzumaki_ he was seeing across the hall, a pained put upon his lips as he rubbed at his elbow - probably the reason for his screaming out in pain.

Sasuke’s head was spinning, and he needed time to calm down. He hadn’t seen Naruto in eight years, and the shock of seeing him so suddenly was unexpectedly heavy for Sasuke to deal with.

_He’s here, he’s actually here!_ It seemed so surreal, when Sasuke had thought there was virtually no chance he would ever encounter the rambunctious blonde again.

But he _was_ there. Sasuke’s best friend - the closest friend he had ever had, if he was honest - was standing outside, mere steps away from Sasuke.

Of course, Sasuke wanted to talk to Naruto, to actually make sure he was even _there_. But they were still moving things inside, and Sasuke didn’t want their possible reunion to be witnessed by other people. So, he waited around for another 45 minutes, when the movers finally left, to finally make his move.

Naruto was still outside his apartment, and now more than ever was Sasuke’s chance to catch him. Swallowing all of his fear and calling forth his massive amount of pride, Sasuke confidently yanked the door open and stepped out into the corridor.

“Naruto…”

Sasuke uttered the name he hadn’t spoken in years, and when the man with the shimmering bright golden hair turned his head, his heart stuttered in his chest. Sasuke felt a constriction there that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Sasuke! I-Is that really you?”Naruto stared at him, gaped at him, _looked_ at him, and dammit if Sasuke didn’t miss the feeling of those eyes on him and only him.

Adopting his usual, aloof manner, Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “Do I really look that different to you, Dobe?”

And then something wonderful happened. The corners of Naruto’s eyes crinkled in delight, his mouth curving upwards in the warmest smile Sasuke had ever encountered, and a musical laugh bubbled from his lips.

“Even so, I’ll always be able to recognise you, Sasuke. I could never forget that shit personality of yours, _Teme_.”

A part of Sasuke melted at that smile, while another part glared in disdain. There was so much in between them still, so much left unsettled.

“Hn, that’s a matter of opinion.”

“I can’t believe this. Of all the people I could’ve imagined, I never thought in a million years I would have Sasuke Uchiha as my neighbour.” Naruto was jumping up and down on the spot, practically buzzing with excitement and Sasuke had to hold back a smile at the behaviour. Yeah, this was definitely Naruto.

“So you’re really moving in here?” Sasuke questioned, and Naruto nodded with such enthusiasm Sasuke thought he looked like one of those nodding toy dogs you sat on your desk.

“Yeah, of course! I love this place, and well, now that _you’re_ here it pretty much signs the deal!”

Cerulean blue eyes filled up with a tender warmth, all directed completely on Sasuke. As for the Uchiha, he himself wasn’t sure how to feel about this. So many emotions were running through his mind; shock, confusion, frustration, anger, hurt…happiness…

“Idiot, we haven’t seen each other in years. Things have changed since then.” Sasuke mumbled, glancing at the grown-up figure of his childhood friend.

Naruto suddenly took a step closer, and clapped a warm hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, startling him but comforting him all at once, “I hope you’re not trying to say you found a new best friend, because we promised remember! Nobody would ever replace us, my best friend for life!”

Hidden memories unpredictably revealed themselves in Sasuke’s mind’s eye. An image of himself and Naruto appeared, with the both of them much younger than they looked now. No more than 12. Their first two fingers linking together, tears blurring his vision even though a hopeful smile trembled on Sasuke’s lips. Naruto smiled, bright like the sun, and then…

“God, you’re even lamer than you were before.” Sasuke murmured lowly, cutting off the rest of his memory before he did something stupid, like get emotional in front of Naruto.

When the blonde did nothing but smile at him again, Sasuke _knew_ that this was a whole new beginning for him. Possibly, slightly possibly, for _them_?


	2. Bittersweet Memories

The next few days went by like a blur in Sasuke’s mind, his usually perfectly normal routine in complete disarray at the arrival of his long lost best friend.

Naruto had yet to come over inside his actual apartment - he imagined the blonde was busy enough unpacking all his shit, and Sasuke was well aware of Naruto’s crappy organisational skills. But still, just the thought that he was next door, right opposite his small apartment, it turned Sasuke into a jumble of nerves.

He looked so different, but yet Sasuke had been instantly able to recognise him. His striking features, such as his golden sunshine hair, piercing cobalt eyes and familiar tan told Sasuke it was definitely his best friend.

But the way he walked, the way Naruto carried himself, it was so…weird. It was as if some of the innate joy instilled in the boy he had once known had seeped out of Naruto. It hadn’t vanished completely, but it wasn’t the same as before. Something had happened, maybe even many things. And Sasuke wanted so desperately to know, and he would scold himself constantly for it.

 _No,_ Naruto had been absent for many years, and just because he had returned didn’t mean Sasuke had to pretend as if the move had never happened. He had never forgotten how Naruto had never contacted him at all since he had left, and the pain of his absence was still raw and aching in Sasuke’s heart.

The shrill _ding!_ of the doorbell alerted Sasuke back to the present, and he automatically moved over to answer the door. It wasn’t until his hand had covered the knob, stretching the door wide open, that Sasuke realised he knew who would be at his door…

“Hey, look who finally showed up!” Naruto declared, his eyes glimmering with that same untamed excitement Sasuke had seen before.

The raven-haired man sighed deeply, leaning against the doorframe, “Naruto, you can’t just show up here without letting me know.”

“What? But I can’t call you since I don’t have your number, and it’s so convenient!” Naruto pleaded, his expression holding that familiar essence of childishness, yet a rugged handsomeness adorned those features, and the very thought of Naruto as anything _attractive_ brought a rosy blush across the tips of Sasuke’s ears.

So okay, he _might_ have had a burgeoning crush on his best friend years ago before he left. It had been so confusing back then - they were only 12 after all - and Sasuke hadn’t had enough time to sort out his feelings before Naruto had moved away. 

 _Keep your cool_ , “So if I send you home it won’t be so much trouble for you? That’s good.”

A slow grin tilted nations lips upwards teasingly, “I’m pretty sure I heard an ‘if’ in there, Teme.”

 _Damn him! Now he definitely won’t leave_ , Sasuke chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, and then scowled angrily.

“Fine, just get in here already.” Standing up properly, Sasuke opened the door fully and moved aside so Naruto could come inside. 

The brush of their shoulders together as Naruto walked past him into the apartment nearly made Sasuke shiver. Naruto definitely didn’t have his pathetic, little toothpick arms anymore -  instead, an arm full of muscle and strength. 

“Such an accommodating host, thank you.” A low chuckle rumbled in Naruto’s throat, and Sasuke slammed the door shut as a way to shut his thoughts up. 

_What have I gotten myself into?_

***

An hour had passed, and the two of them had filled in the time with the general, meagre routine of early conversation. They discussed the currently dismal weather Konoha was experiencing. Sasuke asked Naruto about how the moving I process was going, and the blonde regaled him with a tale of how he had nearly blown up his dishwasher. It was almost a normal chat between long friends.

…Except for the gaping hole of misunderstanding and hurt that lingered between them - or at least on Sasuke’s end. The Uchiha was just itching to know what the hell Naruto’s deal was, breaking off communication for so long and only just now reconnecting? And only because they were conveniently neighbours now. But for some bizarre reason, he just couldn’t get his mouth to cooperate and form the words he was screaming in his mind.

So he just continued on with the mild conversation they were having, with Naruto currently talking about his previous relationship. The topic was somewhat unsettling for Sasuke, to imagine his best friend doing those sorts of… _things_ , well it wasn’t something he could think about at the moment.

“We just wanted totally different things,“ Naruto explained, seated next to Sasuke on his three-seater couch and nursing a tea cup full of black tea, “It’s part of the reason I decided to come back here, to Konoha. I needed a fresh start, y’know?”

Sasuke snickered at the irony of that sentence, "And instead, you run into a ghost from your past. You never were apt at following instructions, Dobe.”

“Hey, you’re not a ghost! I mean, I always imagined you in my future–”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, and Naruto stiffened and Sasuke was almost  _certain_ he saw a blush bloom across those tanned, whiskered cheeks. _Hm, interesting._

“Uh, that came out wrong. What I meant to say was that I always knew I’d meet you again one day. I never knew it would be so soon.” Naruto corrected himself swiftly, giving a resolute nod of his head at the end.

“So, what about you? Finally interested in the ladies now, Teme?” Leaning back into the couch, Naruto gave him a lop-sided smirk and Sasuke was sure he had turned a couple of shades paler.

 _Shit_ , Naruto didn’t know about his preferences. Sasuke had figured out he was gay around 16, long after Naruto had left him. And having no response of contact from the blonde, Sasuke thought it pointless to tell him his sexual orientation.

Well, there was no time like the present.

“No. It’s-It’s quite the opposite actually.” Sasuke cleared his throat, and hoped he didn’t sound as awkward as he felt.

“You’re…into guys?”

There was a pause. Naruto was staring at him, and Sasuke eventually gave a small nod.

Then, a giant shit-eating grin broke across Naruto’s face as he said, "Knew it.”

“What are yo–”

The moron actually laughed, "Come on, Sasuke. No straight guy can resist all that attention for long, especially once puberty hits. So you had to be gay, or asexual at least.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

Scrunching up his face at the mere suggestion, Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "Why the hell would it? People should be able to love whoever they want, who am I to say what’s right or wrong?”

A rather impassioned look illuminated Naruto’s face as he stared down at his tea thoughtfully, "Love doesn’t have logic. You can’t stop it, and you can’t stop yourself from feeling it. No matter how hard you try.”

He didn’t know why, but something quivered deep in the pits of Sasuke’s stomach, and his heart beat became more aware to his own hearing. _This is Naruto?_

The blonde in question broke from his reverie, and carelessly shrugged, "Besides, I’m bisexual, so that would be pretty hypocritical of me, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know whether to think you’ve changed completely, or you haven’t changed at all.” Sasuke mumbled, partly to himself and partly to Naruto.

“Teme, I _have_ changed. So have you. But just because we’ve changed, doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten.”

Sasuke made a face at that. _Okay, now this was just getting weird_. "When did you get so damn philosophical?”

Chuckling nervously, Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck and shrugged again, "Well, reading a shitload of books helped–”

“You read books? I may pass out any second now.” Sasuke made a small show of collapsing into the fold of the couch and Naruto swatted his knee in a playful manner.

“Oh shut up, Teme. It’s not that surprising!”

But to Sasuke, it was completely surprising. This Naruto in front of him, he was so unlike the Naruto he had known as a child. His goofy personality remained, but it was no longer ignorant, no longer naïve. His smile was still stupidly big, but it was so annoyingly charming now, it probably attracted more people than not.  _He’s grown up._

A sudden sense of inexplicable sadness rushed through Sasuke’s core. He had missed out on _so much_. Watching Naruto grow up, seeing him become the man he was today – these were things that Sasuke would never have, and that hurt him in ways he hadn’t expected.

“Hey, you okay?”

Naruto was staring at him, and Sasuke pushed back his emotions and schooled his expression into stoicness.

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.”

Sasuke’s breath hitched when Naruto reached out a finger, smoothing it down the middle of his forehead, “Your eyebrows are furrowed, and you’ve got that crinkle on your nose that you get when you think too hard about something.” Naruto’s finger kept sliding down until it tapped him in the centre of his nose. 

Sasuke was slightly stunned. Did he really do that? He had never noticed before, and yet Naruto had. Naruto had noticed, and Naruto had remembered.

“What’s up?”

“For all these years, you’ve never once replied to a single one of my letters.”

He didn’t look directly at Naruto as he said it, rather, he looked at his chest. More specifically, the left side of his chest, where his enormous heart was current located. Sasuke had always silently admired Naruto for his heart, even after all he had been through as a child, it was always open to everyone, even Sasuke. Or so the Uchiha had thought.

“Did you really come to hate me, Naruto?”

“What!? Sasuke, what are you talking about?”

Shaking his head, Sasuke glanced off to the side, observing the specks of dust on his jeans, “Nothing, nevermind.”

“I never got a letter from you!” Naruto outburst, and it was so horribly indignant that it caused Sasuke to lock gazes with him.

 _Pain_ , there was so much pain etched into the form of the man sitting next to him. The contours of his face were drawn downwards in grievance, the usually sunny disposition of Naruto vanishing without a trace. Even the way his back slouched, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging low, he just looked so _unhappy_.

“I mean, shit, I would run out and check the mailbox every morning and afternoon! Everyday I’d go and check it, and every damn day there was nothing.”

The raw agony in those eyes, there was no way Naruto was lying. The Uzumaki had always been a terrible liar anyway, his heart too open to fake anything. _But it doesn’t make sense!_

“That’s impossible! I sent letters! I know I did!” Sasuke remembers those days, when he would walk hopefully up to the post box, dropping in his letter and waiting eagerly for his reply each time.

“Then why did I never get any!?” 

Naruto was upset - _really upset._ Sasuke couldn’t remember ever seeing him so furious. Of course, he had known he was special to Naruto, the two of them just knew that there was nobody else like each other. But he hadn’t known he had taken up such a big space in Naruto’s already much too big heart.

“Why did _I_ never get any, Naruto!?” Sasuke demanded, frustrated at being accused so insistently. _What’s going on? How could he not get a single letter?_

Widening his eyes momentarily, Naruto then narrowed them in defensive anger, clenching his shaking fist by his side, “Are you kidding me!? I sent you a letter every fucking week for three years straight! Even though you never wrote me back, I still hoped that one day, maybe, you’d give me a sign you were still there, that you hadn’t forgotten me. Eventually I…I just accepted that you didn’t care about me anymore.”

The further along in his rant he got, the quieter Naruto’s voice became. It took on an almost morose quality - which was something Sasuke had never heard before. It made his heartstrings quiver and quake, the weight of Naruto’s sadness blaringly obvious through the dullness of his tone. This was definitely not the Naruto Uzumaki that he had known.

“I think you should leave.” Sasuke stared down at the leather couch arm he was sitting next to as he spoke, not daring enough to look up into Naruto’s eyes and say so. _Coward._

Since he wasn’t looking at him, Sasuke didn’t know what type of expression Naruto wore in his face. But he could imagine the bright blue eyes he had so secretly adored widening and his eyebrows rising so high they displeased into his gorgeous, golden hair.

_After all this time, you’re just telling him to leave?_

“I think I should go, too.” Naruto’s voice echoed the emptiness that filled Sasuke’s heart.

It wasn’t until Sasuke heard the door close that he let the sadness within his heart out, and he wept into the solitude of his apartment.


	3. No Place I'd Rather Be

_“S’uke, I’m moving.“ Naruto’s bright blue eyes were so wrongly full and lifeless as the words fell from his lips hopelessly._

_Sasuke felt his entire world stop spinning, his heart thudding painfully against his chest, “What do you mean you’re moving? Moving where?”_

_“To Fiji, my dad is making us move there because of his new job.” Naruto muttered, kicking at the leaves under his feels and listening to them crunch as he stepped on them._

_They were in their favourite park, standing amongst the leaves on a chilly autumn day. They had planned to have a tree-climbing competition today, but Naruto’s news had thrown a spanner into the works big time._

_“Why can’t he do his new job here? Do all of you really have to move to Fiji?” Sasuke struggled to keep his voice even, to stop his hands from shaking. This couldn’t be happening._

_Naruto looked up at him, his face the perfect picture of misery, “I have to go, S’uke. My dad said there’s no other choice.”_

_There was a pause, as Sasuke struggled to get a handle on his emotions. Breathe, he told himself, “When are you leaving?”_

_Shifting his gaze to the ground, Naruto started kicking up the dirt with the toe of his sneakers, “A week.”_

_“What!? A week!?” Sasuke couldn’t believe it. Only a week, and then Naruto would be gone? Disappeared from his life completely?_

_"He accepted it yesterday, and apparently they need him up there really urgently.” Naruto explained, the dull, unimpressed look cracking his features in half as anguish overtook the tan, chubby face._

_"I don’t know what to do. I-I won’t know anybody over there! And I don’t wanna leave you!”_

_With those words spoken, Naruto had grabbed Sasuke’s hand determinedly and gave it a tight squeeze. Sasuke felt a rush of affection wash over him but quickly shoved it aside. He couldn’t let Naruto know how upset he was, it would only make the idiot feel worse._

_"Stop being ridiculous, Dobe. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.” Sasuke somehow produced a believable scoff, even though the back of his throat was constricting with his effort to hold back his tears._

_Who cares about the world if you’re not in mine?” Naruto’s blue eyes blazed brightly, and he was looking completely at Sasuke and Sasuke alone. It was like he couldn’t see anyone else’s. And secretly, the Uchiha liked being the centre of someone’s attention for once._

_"Dobe…”_

_"Promise that we’ll send letters to each other! We can’t ever forget about each other!” Naruto proclaimed loudly, and Sasuke found himself contemplating the idea._

_"I guess sending letters would be okay.” Yes, that would definitely be okay. No matter what, he couldn’t lose Naruto for good._

_"And we’ll call each other too!” The blonde added enthusiastically, and Sasuke gave him a tiny glare of disapproval._

_"Idiot, phone calls across countries are too expensive. Letters are fine.”_

_His best friend pouted and sulkily nodded, "Alright.” Then, Naruto looked at him again, still holding his hand as he asked, "You know you’re my best friend, right Sasuke?”_

_Something squirmed uncomfortably inside of Sasuke. He didn’t know if he could handle where this conversation was heading. It was all hurting too much as it was, "Naruto,”_

_"You are! And I already know even if I’m still just a kid that you’ll always be my best friend! That’s never gonna change! So you better promise to me that you won’t find another best friend to replace me either!”_

_"How can you know for sure!? What if we,” Sasuke’s voice cracked for the first time and he bit his tongue, trying again, "What if we never see each other again?”_

_Naruto smiled that reassuring smile at him, even though those gorgeous blue eyes were filling with tears, "We will.”_

_"How do you know?” Sasuke urged, wanting to have Naruto’s stupid trust in things that he couldn’t see for once._

_"I don’t know. I just…feel it. No matter how long it takes, we’ll definitely meet again.”_

_Sasuke’s bottom lip quivered and before Naruto could notice that he was crying Sasuke flung his arms around his neck, hugging the idiot closer than he had ever done before._

_"Usuratonkachi.” Sasuke sniffed, and before he knew it Naruto’s was hugging him back. They stood like that in the brisk, autumn wind for a long time._

***

Two weeks had passed since his encounter with Naruto. Sasuke had avoided leaving his apartment for the first week unless he was sure Naruto wasn’t around. But it seemed Naruto was avoiding him as well, as he hadn’t spotted him around once.

He was still hurting over what had happened, and on top of that he was just so confused. Naruto said he had never gotten a letter from Sasuke, which had shocked the Uchiha beyond belief. Truthfully, Sasuke had thought Naruto had forgotten about him in the midst of his new friends. So he had given up.

But now Naruto was saying that he hadn’t gotten one single letter from Sasuke ever! How could that be? Sasuke just didn’t know what to think anymore. All that kept ringing in his head was, _‘Why is everything so messed up?’_

Sasuke was just about to go for a walk to clear his head, when he heard a knocking on his door. Even though he was anxious it could be Naruto, Sasuke refused to be afraid of answering his own door. So, he marched over to it and opened it promptly.

"Hey, Sasuke. Long time no see, huh?” Naruto joked, probably hoping to diffuse some of the stiff tension that was between them. No such luck, of course.

Sasuke sighed tiredly, “Naruto, I’m really not interested in more arguing and yelling right now. Can we talk later?”

Shaking his head, Naruto adjusted the strap of the backpack resting on his shoulder to a more comfortable position, “No, this can’t wait.”

Sasuke wanted to scowl at his persistence, “And why is that?”

“Because, I think I found out what happened to all the letters I sent you, Sasuke.” And with that said Naruto dropped the backpack he was carrying onto the ground, unzipping it.

Sasuke’s eyes widened as he saw it was overflowing with letters – and were those a few packages as well? There must have been over a hundred in there!

“What is this?” Sasuke inquired, totally perplexed at the backpack. _Could it be…?_

“They never even left Fiji. They’ve been in storage in the post office all this time.” Naruto stated, and his tone was so serious now that Sasuke knew it was the truth.

_How is that possible?_

“Looks like your dad never did get over his undeniable dislike of me.” Luckily Naruto provided him with an answer, and refocusing his gaze Sasuke noticed how angry and agitated the blonde looked.

Realisation hit Sasuke, “My father…” Shaking his head, Sasuke continued on, “But then, what about my letters? He was even with me sometimes when I would post those!”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto’s posture slumped as he shrugged his shoulders, “Apparently your dad had some guy, Kabuto, to get rid of the letters before they ever arrived to me.”

 _My own father would go so far? Did he really hate Naruto so much?_ He had known the two had never exactly gotten along. Though to be fair, Naruto always true his best to make Sasuke’s father change his opinion of him. But it had never worked, and eventually Naruto had gotten tired of trying.

But to think his own father would go out of his way to make sure he lost contact with Naruto…it made his blood _boil._

“So, all my letters I sent you are…?”

“Gone. That guy Kabuto most likely disposed of them all a long time ago.”

Deep, dark melancholy clenched around Sasuke’s chest, squeezing his ribcage so tightly it felt like he couldn’t breathe. All of his previous irritation from earlier had vanished. Naruto had suffered all this time, believing Sasuke didn’t care about him anymore, and his own father was to blame? He would definitely have something to say to him _very soon._

“But hey, I’ve got all my letters I sent you. That’s better, isn’t it?” Naruto’s tone had lightened, a hopeful smile planted across his lips that made Sasuke’s stomach turn. _How can he be so kind after knowing all of this?_

“Naruto, it’s not–”

Holding up a hand, Naruto’s smile turned sad, “It’s okay, Sasuke. Knowing you really did send them all those years ago, it’s enough for me.”

And dammit if that didn’t break Sasuke’s heart. _You’re too selfless, Naruto._

“That’s a shitload of letters.” He said, unable to stay on the previous topic any longer.

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “Yeah well, I told you I wrote to you practically every day.”

A pause, and then Sasuke tentatively asked, “Can I open them?”

A bewildered look flew across Naruto’s face, “What? Of course you can, Teme! That’s the whole reason I flew all the way back to Fiji in the first place, y’know.”

That made Sasuke stop, his eyes widening and his eyebrows arching in utter surprise, “Y-You actually travelled all the way to Fiji to collect all of these?”

“Um, yeah. I just said that, didn’t I?” Naruto chuckled awkwardly again and Sasuke felt the annoying sting of tears glisten on his eye rims.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke picked up a backpack and smirked up at Naruto, “You usuratonkachi.”

“Teme!”

***

And so it was that Naruto and Sasuke ended up sitting cross-legged on the floor across from each other, going through all of Naruto’s letters together.

“Oh man, look at how crappy my handwriting was!” Naruto would remark occasionally, laughing loudly and pointing to one of his numerous letters in amusement.

"You haven’t written ‘Dear Sasuke’ once on the letters I’ve read so far” Sasuke had keenly observed, “It’s always ‘Bastard’ or ‘Teme’ or ‘Asshole.”

Naruto grinned foxily at that, “Well that’s because you _are_ always either a 'Bastard’ or a 'Teme’ or an 'Asshole’.”

Growling under his breath, Sasuke continued reading the letters.

Some of them were interesting, when Naruto would vividly tell him a story that had happened to him. Some were boring as hell, no different to Naruto’s usual blabber.

They made Sasuke smirk, sigh, glare, roll his eyes, shake his head, growl chuckle, smile - he even got a bit teary-eyed reading a few of Naruto’s deeper, more emotional letters. Having these letters and knowing Naruto wrote them with his very own hands just for Sasuke, it made the Uchiha want to do something complete out of character - like jumping on his idiot of a best friend smothering him with a hug and not letting go.

Much more quickly than Sasuke had realised, the afternoon sun had faded into the darkness of the evening night. He looked to Naruto upon noticing this, only to find him completely absorbed in one of his past letters. _That idiot, he just does whatever he wants all the time, doesn’t he?_

"I’m sorry,” Sasuke blurted out of nowhere, causing Naruto to startle out of his focused reading and look to him.

“Huh?” Naruto oh-so-intelligently replied. Sasuke fought back a scowl and instead twitched his nose.

“All this time I had thought you were so fickle as to forget about me. But all these letters,” Sasuke paused himself mid-sentence, purposefully pointing and gesturing to the numerous piles of letters, “I can see you didn’t forget at all.”

Blinking a few times, Naruto carefully placed down the letter he was holding and scooted across the floor closer to Sasuke. He moved right up next to him, and they shared a nervous sort of glance before looking away from each other.

“I told you before, Sasuke,” Naruto muttered, picking at some fluff on the carpet, “That I would never forget or replace you as my best friend. I always keep my promises.”

Sasuke smiled as he realised how true the statement was, his faith in Naruto coming back to him even stronger with each shared conversation between them.

“When we made that promise, I remember how hopeless I felt,” Sasuke drew his knees up to his chest, hugging his arms around his legs, “I remember thinking, 'Though he’ll definitely find better friends, I’ll never abandon him.’”

Sasuke hugged himself tighter. He had never spoken that out loud before, it felt strangely good to let out. Chancing a glance up, Sasuke let out a silent gasp at the look of absolute fondness and adoration in Naruto’s eyes, his nose, his lips - his entire face!

“I really missed you, S’uke.” Two of Naruto’s fingers took Sasuke’s stray bang in their grasp, and the blonde smoothed his pads over the soft, silky hair in a mesmerised manner. Sasuke’s heart was starting to pump faster, his eyes unable to leave Naruto.

“W-Wait, Naruto–” Sasuke stuttered out, but was silenced when he saw the action of Naruto twirling his inky black locks around in his fingers, a sparkly glow present in his eyes.

“I wrote a lot of embarrassing letters to you, I mean,” Naruto made a gesture to some piles of letters to his right, all detailing how Naruto would get beat up by his female best friend on occasion, or how he would always get lost in the oddest of places (one of them being his very own _school_ even after attending it for years).

He continued, “But you know, there were some letters I wrote that even I couldn’t send. And if I was a girl, perhaps you could’ve called them ‘love letters’.”

Sasuke was shaking his head I disbelief. This was too good to ever possibly be true. Was Naruto really saying that…that he had thought of Sasuke in _that_ way as well? Blood involuntarily rushed to Sasuke’s cheeks, colouring them ruddy as he considered his best friend, Naruto Uzumaki.

“You can’t be serious.” Sasuke mumbled, even though he so desperately wanted to be proved wrong for once.

“Even when we were a thousand miles apart, it still didn’t stop me from falling for you.” Naruto’s voice was a whisper, as he finally tucked Sasuke’s long bang behind his ear, stroking his cheek softly once he did so.

"I…I missed you too, Naruto.” Peeking up at the blonde through his dark lashes, a quiet meaning was communicated between them.

_He’s so close. God, he’s actually this close to me right now._

Sasuke couldn’t help but marvel in wonder at the thought. He could feel the breathe acing Naruto’s nose blow against his cheek. How exactly had he lived without Naruto for so long?

Tilting his head forward, Sasuke let his lips brush against those of his best friend’s ever so slightly, and it was as fireworks erupted and sparkled in front of his eyes. _With only this light touch!?_

As if he had ignited a chain reaction, Naruto pressed his lips against Sasuke’s - more solidly this time, more firmly. Sasuke head spun and his eyes slid shut as their lips moved uncertainly in a random, tandem rhythm. He had never felt so alive!

Naruto’s hand were cupping his cheeks with such tenderness, his thumbs still stroking over his pale skin soothingly. It was so pleasurable, that Sasuke couldn’t hold back a small sigh of encouragement, angling his head to the right in order to deepen the sweet kiss.

He heard Naruto’s gasp at his actions, and didn’t withhold a smirk as he continued to kiss his best friend. Sasuke’s own hands were gripping Naruto’s shoulders, squeezing them occasionally.

If Sasuke compared the best sex he had ever had with a man, to this simple, innocent kiss with Naruto, it would be in Naruto’s favour without a doubt. The pureness he felt as he kissed the blonde was on an entirely different and much larger scale to having hot, steamy sex with a stranger. They were hardly even touching, and still Sasuke was getting so worked up by him. Naruto was truly special; he was one of a kind.

When they had both run out of breath, they eventually pulled away. And Sasuke embarrassingly had to use great will power not to whine in protest. From just one kiss, Naruto had reduced him to this mess of emotions. _Damn that moron!_

Their eyes then opened, immediately landing on one another. Sasuke felt a heated blush spread across his cheeks all the way up to the tips of his ears. And Naruto wasn’t much better - his whole face looked like a tomato!

"W-Wow, that was um, uhh…” Naruto’s eyes were still dazed from the kiss, and Sasuke could tell his head was stuck in the clouds. _Did I make him that way?_ The thought sent a wave of butterflies through Sasuke’s stomach. He quite liked the sound of that.

Sasuke gave one of his softest smiles, and pinched Naruto’s shoulder playfully as he murmured, “Looks like your mouth is good at something other than mindless blabber after all, Dobe.”

Naruto’s eyes widened and Sasuke could see he was back to reality now - and his blush progressed from tomato level to beetroot level.

“Y-You be quiet, Teme! You’d be surprised at how much talent this mouth has!”

Upon realising how his statement sounded, Naruto promptly buried his burning face in his arms and groaned. Sasuke couldn’t hold it in any longer: he laughed.

Naruto suddenly pulled his hands away from his face and watched, openly stunned and transfixed, as Sasuke Uchiha laughed. It was rare that Sasuke found anything humorous enough to laugh at, but being with Naruto just made him so _happy_ he couldn’t contain it.

When his laughter faded away, a warm smile was left behind, which Naruto returned. The blonde covered Sasuke’s hand with his own, threading their fingers together instantly.

“I want to make you laugh like that every day, starting from now.”

Sasuke blinked, then rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Everything you do is so moronic, I wouldn’t doubt that.”

Chuckling in that gravelly tone that was simply _Naruto_ , the blonde leaned in and bumped their noses together, giving Sasuke an Eskimo kiss. The intimacy of the action made Sasuke blush again, and he sighed against Naruto’s lips as they gazed at each other.

“It’s a deal then,” His sunshine grinned, then leaned in again to peck Sasuke’s lips, “Best friends forever, and now lovers forever. Sounds pretty good to me.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke breathed out peacefully, leaning in further to Naruto’s embrace. “And don’t you think you’re moving away ever again. You’re staying right here, Usuratonkachi.”

Naruto’s smile could rival the warmth and brightness of the sun, “As long as it’s with you, I’ll stay or go anywhere, S'uke.”

 _Good_ , Sasuke thought but didn’t yet have the courage to say. This time, he would hold onto Naruto no matter what. And he knew that Naruto would do exactly the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much to all who read, reviewed and gave kudos!! :D It was really fun sharing this short but sweet story with you guys, I hope you enjoyed it as well *hugs*

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos/review to make me smile :)


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